Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) – The Hunted, and The High Ground

Airing on 8 January, 1990, this episode featured the first appearance of James Cromwell in the Trek universe. Here he plays Prime Minister Nayrok in an episode written by Robin Bernheim.

An escaped prisoner, Danar (Jeff McCarthy) gives Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the Enterprise a run for its money after he escapes from Angosha III, a planet petitioning for entry into the Federation.

As he escapes, is captured, escapes and eludes again, Picard, Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and the rest of the crew discover what is really happening on Angosha III. Danar, and his fellow prisoners were all soldiers fighting for the planet and its people. After peace was achieved, and the government had firm control they turned on their soldiers, locking them away – their violence and skills engineered by those in command – as a threat to society.

Now they are free, and the Angoshans will have to learn to accept and assimilate all sides of their society before they can be accepted into the Federation.

Through the course of the episode, both Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Data (Brent Spiner) get some nice character moments when they encounter Danar.

There’s some nice sequences, especially at the beginning and climax of the episode as Danar does his stuff, and eludes everyone, outwitting and out thinking them all.

The episode is fairly enjoyable, and man, it’s cool to see James Cromwell, knowing he’ll return in the films, and a different Trek series. The most enjoyable part is how Picard leaves Angosha… brilliant.

Captain’s log: stardate 43510.7

Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) gets her own episode, which aired on 29 January, 1990. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. Written by Melinda M. Snodgrass, I can only imagine there was a better story here at some point.

During a stopover, Crusher is caught up in a terrorist attack, and soon finds herself being held as a prisoner by the terrorists. The leader is Kyril Finn (Richard Cox) and the episode portrays him as not entirely unlikeable, in his way, even as he organises attacks to prove his political point.

Finn and his men are using a technology known as inverters which not only hide them from scans as well as materialise in and out of locations instantly, but whose radiation is slowly killing Finn and all his followers.

Crusher does her help to attend to the medical issues that plague Finn’s people, but

Wesley (Wil Wheaton) works aboard ship to try to track down his mother, and he is one of the first to realise the truth of the radiation.

The episode doesn’t deal with the subject matter as well as a Trek story should. With the increase of such activities today could resonate today, but instead, it doesn’t do the subject matter, or Crusher, justice.

Next week, Q (John De Lancie) returns as the Human Adventure continues…